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Agency
for Heritage development and cultural promotion (AMVPPC)
The agency was established in 1988 under the title
of National Agency for the Development of Archaeological
and Historical heritage (or ANEP), under the law n°
88 of 25 February 1988, modified by the law 97-16 of
3 march 1997. |
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It is a non-administrative public establishment
with a legal personality and financial autonomy subject
to commercial law, under the authority of the Ministry
of Culture and Heritage Conservation. |
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The Agency’s mission is to implement
Government policy in the various cultural fields, particularly
those connected with the presentation and interpretation
of archaeological and historical heritage and its management,
and to promote intellectual, literary and artistic creativity.
Hence it establishes and implements programmes for heritage
development and presentation (about sixty sites, monuments
and museums), prepares and implements programmes and events
of a cultural nature with various partners (in particular
the National Heritage Institute) delivers authorizations
required for organising cultural, leisure or commercial
activities taking place within the confines of sites under
its responsibility. The Agency also participates in the
development of cultural tourism, promotes national cultural
production in all its forms as well as investment in cultural
industries. |
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A
wide-ranging activity
Under the director general’s office, the AMVPPC
is divided into seven departments: Technical, Cultural
promotion, Management, Production and Organisation,
Study and Programming, Administration and Finance, Coordination
and follow-through. |
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Since its creation and along with the
day-to-day management of activities within its assigned
mission, the Agency has embarked on a large-scale scheme
to present and promote cultural tourism based on projects
with cultural, educational, environmental, social, tourist
and economic objectives. Hence, the creation of the Carthage-Sidi
Bou Said Archaeological Park; the refurbishment of the
Baron d’ Erlanger’s palace in Sidi Bou Said,
housing the Centre of Arab and Mediterranean Music; the
Archaeological Park of Dougga, which is also the object
of a Tunisian-French cooperation programme to support
the presentation and interpretation of the site; the Sbeitla-Kasserine
Archaeological Park which, for this region in the centre
of the country, has created new dynamism in the tourist
and economic sphere with a ripple effect on several local
sectors of activity. And, of course, the development work
underway on the Archaeological Park of Oudna (Uthina). |
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Similarly, the Agency’s action is
directed towards the restoration, presentation, and interpretation
of many sites and monuments in the urban and near-urban
context, its major project being the restoration of several
sections of the Zaghouan to Carthage Roman aqueduct. |
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A key part of the heritage the AMVPPC
was entrusted to manage are the museums, the older ones
of which have been rehabilitated, like the famous Bardo
Museum, the museums of Enfidha, Nabeul and El Jem, as
well the Popular Arts and Traditions museums of Monastir
and Houmt-Souk in Jerba. The creation of new museums in
Moknine, Chemtou, Mahdia and the Sahara museum in Douz
has enriched the museum network. The Agency has also participated
in the creation and design of museums for third parties:
the National Military Museum (Ksar el Ouerda), the Mareth
Line museum, the National Guard Museum and the Film museum.
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Development
and promotion
New sites have been opened to visitors since the Agency’s
creation: the Ancient El Haouaria quarries, the Christian
catacombs in Sousse, the sites of Pheradi Majus, Neapolis
and the Snailery in Gafsa. The same applies to monuments,
including the Citadels of Hammamet, Tabarka, Kelibia,
Ghazi Mustapha in Jerba and Mahdia, as well as the El
Jem amphitheatre, the Ribat and the Great Mosque of
Sousse and the Ribat of Monastir. In this domain, the
Agency participates in the efforts of third parties
pursuing the same objectives. |
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The Agency has introduced signage on
sites to facilitate access to and the visit of sites and
monuments and has also created visitors’ centres.
To present and highlight the architectural characteristics
of a certain number of monuments, the AMVPPC has introduced
artistic illumination at night. |
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The other aspects of the AMVPPC’s
action are: promotion of cultural tourism within the context
of a national plan drawn up in May 1999, involving different
partners; promotion through cultural products, in particular
publishing in all its forms; active participation in the
celebration of Heritage Month and in thematic exhibitions
both in Tunisia and abroad. |
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A
modernisation strategy
Within the framework of the application of a
global modernisation strategy of the culture and
heritage sector and the consolidation of cultural
tourism, the Tunisian government, with the support
of the World Bank, launched a project in 2002
for a global amount of 33 million dinars, for
the management and enhancement of cultural heritage.
This five year project will seek to strengthen
the legal and institutional framework and the
commercialisation of tourist and cultural products
and, finally, the refurbishment and the management
of six selected sites : Carthage, Bardo Museum,
Sousse Museum, the Medina of Kairouan, the archaeological
site of Oudna and the island of Jerba. A unit
operating within the AMVPPC is responsible for
the project’s implementation.
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